27 October 2006
New strategy to improve air services
Jersey Airport has embarked on a new strategy to make air services in Jersey more commercially attractive and sustainable and has started by offering financial incentives to both new and existing airlines.
Existing carriers will be offered a 50 per cent discount on aeronautical charges if they introduce extra flights on existing or new routes and a further 25 per cent discount if they achieve a 10 per cent real growth in passenger numbers on an existing route served by a competitor airline.
As part of the new plans – still being finalised – Jersey Airport is also inviting airlines to propose how they could serve Jersey with new routes to Europe.
An advertisement is being published in leading trade publications inviting airlines to express an interest in setting up new routes between Jersey, France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Once finished, the new strategy will include the means for Jersey Airport to do a swift evaluation of incoming proposals for new routes, so that, working with the Economic Development Department, any financial support offered will be fair and consistent.
Meanwhile, Economic Development has decided not to subsidise Flybe’s proposed new air link to Paris. Assistant Minister for Economic Development, Deputy Alan Maclean, announced today that, following careful evaluation, the proposal would not represent value for money for Jersey.
‘At first sight this proposal has significant merit, because it appears to be consistent with our aim of developing new markets in Europe. However, Flybe were seeking a subsidy of nearly £900,000 over two years which was too much to justify,’ Deputy Maclean said.
He added that Flybe’s proposal was considered very seriously, to the extent that an alternative proposal – based on the airline’s performance - was presented to the carrier. ‘We treated the airline’s proposal with the seriousness it deserved but we had a duty – on behalf of Jersey - to ask for and expect a realistic return on what is, after all, a considerable investment.’
Deputy Maclean also believes the experience will help build closer transport links between Jersey and Guernsey. ‘Although the Paris proposal hasn’t worked out, it really demonstrated the value of working together on the development of air and sea links to the benefit of both islands.’ He is to meet his political counterpart in Guernsey for further discussions in the next few weeks.
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gov.je